Dialog with an Uncertain Future / Excerp (Irregular updates)

The 50th Installment"System Balance and Teamwork"

by Toshitake Tateno, Assistant Professor in the Master Program of Innovation for Design and Engineering

System Balance and Teamwork

Recently, many movies have included three-dimensional effects (stereoscopic vision). I was excited about a year ago that movies were finally being released with 3D effects. Speaking of stereovision, my thoughts rest happily on my experience of 20 years ago when I used to handle it as a part of my study. At the time, it was the era when the term "virtual reality" first appeared, and a flood of devices that would appear in SF movies were released one after another, including head mounted displays and data gloves. Many of the devices were expensive so that people could not easily purchase them. The pricing was the reason these products were not commercialized for personal use. However, the products started to diffuse quickly and even regular electric stores now carry 3D game consoles, 3D digital cameras, 3D movies and 3D video recorders.

In the meanwhile, why did stereovision start to come at this late date? It should not be a problem of pricing because prices usually go down as shipments increases. How about the technical aspects? To view movies stereoscopically, it requires a technology to present images separately to the right and left eyes. There are many ways to realize this, although they have not changed at all in the last two decades. We can say that the product is highly developed because it has not changed in twenty years from the era of fast-changing technology advancement without a single improvement. I doubt that there has been innovation in stereovision technology.

It is more appropriate to think that the technologies were insufficient for devices on the periphery to use stereovision. When making 3D movies, for example, if the technologies for 3D movie editors and recording media to watch 3D movies at home are insufficient, people cannot watch 3D movies even though they are made with high quality devices.

In general, it usually takes multiple features to satisfy the demands of customers. They have their own intended purposes for products, and it is impossible to gain customer satisfaction without offering a set of features for the right purpose. The same goes for personal computers. Let's say PC users demand a faster response, and in this way, they tend to pay attention to the performance of the CPU when choosing computers. Although it is an important point, it does not lead to a good result without having high memory capacity, graphics boards, and related functions besides the CPU. You will end up sitting on a gold mine if the CPU is the only part with exceptional performance. Overall system balance is the key.

It should be the same for humans, not just machines. When starting to engage in the PBL project, let's say there is only one person with exceptional abilities in the specialty. Do you think this project will succeed? The project probably ends without fully using the person's abilities. Because a project is only one of the systems, it does not lead to a good result unless the overall balance is stable. So, is it necessary for all members of a project to increase their abilities? The answer is no, of course. Balance is important because people have different specialties.

It is said that finding employment is extremely difficult nowadays. I am anxious because some of my students entered graduate school after graduation from university. I suggest thinking of a topic in a similar fashion. It requires good balance because companies are another form of system. I am certain that they are narrowing the desired personnel resources for their companies because good companies know the importance of balance. It is not the time for employing someone just because the person has high potential. By clearly showing what they can do for themselves, I believe the right companies that fit them will hire with open arms. Our PBL project provides the best opportunity to learn about such teamwork. It is my wish that they will gain much experience and make it useful for society.